The present invention relates to a feed assembly for use in filling a container with tablets or other materials. More particularly, the present invention relates to a tablet feed assembly which employs a spiral chute having features which provide a maximum fill of tablets for a container while also providing a cushion to prevent tablets from being crushed or broken.
Previous spiral chute assemblies are described in the following patents U.S. Pat. No. 1,750,081 to Wood et al.; U.S. Pat. No. 3,565,226 to Winchester; British Patent No. 494,894; British Patent No. 769,312; and German Patent No. 725,309.
By the present invention, there is provided a feed assembly for tablets or other materials which employs a spiral chute having features which aid in the filling of a container with the tablets while also preventing damage to the tablets.
Accordingly, it is an object of the present invention to provide a feed assembly, particularly for tablets or other fragile materials requiring special handling, having features which maintain the tablets in motion and which provide for the tablets to be maintained in a compact grouping to allow a maximum fill of the container.
It is another object of the invention to provide a tablet feed assembly which prevents the tablets from "freighttraining" wherein one tablet follows right after another, but in a formation which is only one tablet deep.
It is a further object of the invention to provide a feed assembly having a spiral chute which prevents the tablets from crashing into one another and thus preventing damage. The present construction also helps to support the weight of the tablets and thus reduces tablet crushing.
It is another object of the present invention to provide a spiral chute assembly in which the combination of diameter and slope of the slide allows the tablets to flow at a controlled rate.